12. She came back
Misty had been at Ash's house for over an hour, and was drinking her fourth mug of cocoa, having explained the story from her point of view. It hadn't been much different from Ash's version. It had taken a lot out of her, with a lot of tears, but now she was sitting quietly, the only sound her occasional slurping, Finally she finished her drink and spoke up.
"So is he here?"
"Well, yes."
"Where -"
"He's sleeping."
"That makes a change…" she thought, but quickly abandoned that idea when Ash's mother gave her a warning look. "Should I go and wake him up?"
Mrs. Ketchum considered this. "No, I'll get him." Misty nodded as the woman went into Ash's room, feeling strangely apprehensive, but not really knowing why. She'd known him for seven years, but the other day it was like she didn't know him at all. Whatever was about to happen in the next few minutes would determine whether they might know each other for another seven years.
Ash woke with a start as his mother tapped him on the shoulder.
"Wha -? Who?" he mumbled. "Mom?"
"Morning Ash, I've got a surprise for you." she said, and then went back into the lounge. Ash forced himself out of bed and meandered after her, confused. He supposed that whatever it was it had better be good… and then he froze in the doorway when he spotted a familiar shock of ginger hair on the sofa.
"M -Misty?" He couldn't quite believe it when she turned around to face him. After a pause of incalculable time, they both began to speak at the same time.
"So sorry… it was all my fault… very sorry…" Just as suddenly they stopped talking and it was then Ash noticed the nearly faded red mark on her cheek.
"Did I do that?"
"It's not that bad, really." She instantly contradicted herself by holding a hand to cover it.
"I'm really sorry, Misty. Can you ever forgive me?" She looked thoughtful.
"I'll think about it." There was another pause and then she smiled. Ash's mother, watching the whole situation with interest, wasn't entirely sure what happened next, as the two bodies turned into a blur and met in a hug, then leapt apart, blushing furiously. Misty was blushing more than Ash, although it was hard to tell. The thought of why she was blushing made her blush even more, and the red mark on her cheek was now completely gone. After a few seconds she remembered something. "Still no Pikachu?"
Ash's face fell. "No." It was then that he noticed Meowth, sleeping near Togepi. "Is that…?" Misty nodded and recounted the story Meowth had told her. "Wow… That motto just won't be the same without them." Then, as if in response, the cat answered, dreaming.
"Meeeeowth."
There was silence for several seconds and then a knock on the door…
After much contemplation, Mrs. Ketchum opened the front door and was surprised to see a vaguely familiar person… she just couldn't place where from. She was about twenty one years old with long red hair… and Ash's mother recognised her uniform… then it dawned on her who this person was. She was bad news… but she looked terrible, upset, and, apparently, alone except for a Pikachu. Where was her friend?
"Is this Ash Ketchum's house?" said the girl. The answer she received was not the friendly 'yes' she had been expecting, as Ash and Misty came to the door to see what was going on.
"YOU! Can't you leave me alone?" shouted Ash. Jessie said nothing, but instead handed him Pikachu. He looked confused. "Wha -?"
"Team Rocket is no more. At least not where James and I are concerned. We've quit."
"Where IS James?" said Misty, noticing his absence for the first time. Jessie dropped her head and meekly asked:
"Could I come in?" Mrs Ketchum instantly let her into the house and sat her down on the sofa. Meowth had by this point wandered off with Togepi and he was nowhere in sight. Jessie was coaxed slowly into telling her story by all three people.
"James and me have quit the Team, like I said. We're fed up of all the evil deeds we're made to perform. Only trouble is that now I've returned your Pikachu - and before you ask it was my idea - the Boss is trying to get us… no-one quits Team Rocket and lives to tell the tale. We're both fugitives now.
"As for James, he's given me all of our measly pay and gone to get his inheritance… God knows how long he'll be gone. He's promised to come find me when he gets it. I knew he'd been planning something when he suggested early retirement the other day, I knew there had to be some reason for it. Subtlety was never one of his strong points, you see, but this time he had me stumped.
"So that just leaves Meowth." The cat pokémon was now standing in the doorway with Togepi, behind Ash, observing the scene and waiting for contempt from Jessie. "He's also quit, he was the first to have the guts to do it. He kidnapped Togepi from your friend Brock - yes, he actually caught something! - then he went off with it to start a new life for himself. He said he didn't want to be around two failures like me and James… I can't say I blame him, personally… I mean, would YOU stay with us two?" Ash was about to say something but was then silenced by a frown and a threatening spark from Pikachu, much to his surprise. "I'd do the same if I were him." She sighed. "And even though we were always fighting, I still miss him…" she trailed off, then spotted Togepi wandering across the carpet towards Misty. "Togepi…? But that means…. It can't be… Meowth?"
He peered around the door frame and Ash's legs, and meekly looked up at her with as much feline charm as he could. "Dat's right…" Then he launched himself at full speed towards her legs and clung on for dear life.